Genre Types

Thriller: a dramatic story punctuated with action, adventure, and suspense

Tragedy: a story with a catastrophic and/or unfortunate outcome

Science fiction: stories focusing on how science and technology affect individuals and civilization
Parody: a story mocking the pretensions or weaknesses of a particular author,
style, or genre
Romance: a love story; also a tale taking place in a distant time and place and involving adventure with often supernatural or mysterious elements
Romantic comedy: a lighthearted story detailing a romance and its complications
Crime fiction: stories based on the commission and/or investigation of wrongdoing

Detective fiction: stories in which the protagonist investigates a crime

Epic: originally a long poem celebrating the exploits of a factual or fictitious hero, but now applied to prose works on the same theme as well

Epistolary fiction: stories constructed as a series of letters exchanged between characters

Fantasy fiction: stories involving imaginary beings in the real world or in an alternate reality and assuming suspension of disbelief about magic and/or supernatural powers

Fictional autobiography: a story purporting to be a first-person account of someone’s life

Fictional biography: a story structured to resemble a factual life story
Comedy: a story with elements and situations intended to amuse

Comedy-drama: a story with both humorous and serious elements
Adventure fiction: stories in which characters are involved in dangerous and/or exhilarating exploits